Medical Encyclopedia

Topical medications are applied to the skin for the localized treatment of various skin disorders. Topical manifestations of fusidic acid include creams and ointments. Fucidin cream is an antibiotic for treatment of impetigo and infections secondary to burns of the skin. It contains two active ingredients. They are Hydrocortisone and Fusidic acid. The combination of hydrocortisone and fusidic acid is used to treat eczema, primary irritant dermatitis and allergic and seborrheic dermatitis which are infected with the bacteria and where the organisms responsible are known to be sensitive to fusidic acid.

Hydrocortisone is a type of medicine known as a corticosteroid. Its main purpose is to suppress the inflammation in the skin that causes flare-ups of eczema or dermatitis. The matter is that it is not a cure as it does not affect the underlying cause of the inflammation but it does control the flare-up and relieves the symptoms such as itching and redness. Fusidic acid is an antibiotic medicine. It works by entering bacterial cells. It does not directly kill the bacteria but prevents them from replicating. When the two ingredients are combined, the effect of the first one, hydrocortisone, is reduction of the inflammation and the effect of the other one, fusidic acid, is treatment of the infection.

The patients should be aware of the fact that when they exercise the steroid-antibiotic therapy, it should not be continued for more than 7 days in the absence of any clinical improvement, because the steroid ingredient of the preparation has a tendency to mask the extension of the infection or to mask hypersensitivity reactions to the medication. Moreover, a prolonged use of Fucidin cream should be avoided by all means otherwise its corticosteroid component will be more and more absorbed into the body which will decrease the ability of the organism to produce natural steroid hormones by adrenal glands or it will heighten the risk of local side effects such as skin thinning, allergic skin reactions, stinging and irritation.

As the medication contains a corticosteroid it is prohibited to be applied to in the following conditions: atrophic skin, cutaneous ulcer, acne vulgaris, fragile skin veins.

Fucidin cream should be taken under the doctor's guidance. The recommended doses of the medication will be different for different patients but usually it is taken not more than three times a day. Even if the immediate result is not obvious one should not quit using the medication unless the doctor advises them to do it. Initial dosage is the lowest but then it will be increased. If one cannot tolerate the dosage the doctor will prescribe that one sufficient for them.